Viridian

Chapter 17

"Faster," Nox states, looking bored as always, as I continue running around the training room. Najiba still hasn't shown up yet. It was odd enough when Nox knocked on my door to let me know it was time for training but to not have her here at all....

"Where's Najiba?" I ask, coming to his side, panting. He doesn't respond, doesn't even look me in the eyes as he analyzes his dagger. "Nox?" I press.

"Not here." Gee thanks Sherlock, I hadn't noticed. "Weapons now," he says, walking away from me towards a rack of instruments. This guy doesn't talk much. "I thought I had to learn how to defend myself without one first?" I ask. That's what Najiba had said. He turns towards me, looking me up and down before telling me "You'll need a weapon." Rude.

He picks up his dagger again, turning towards me. "You almost killed Cato with one, yes?"

"I did."

"You failed."

"I did..." What is he getting at?

"He infiltrated my mind," the memory seems oddly distant now, my shoulder almost fully recovered with the help of a savant no doubt.

"Tell me exactly what you did when fighting him," once again, seeming to ignore my answer.

"I had a dagger hidden at my thigh," I start, thinking back to that night. "I sent electricity to it, causing it to be deadly to everyone but an Electian. I threw it at him but he stopped it with his telekinesis so I zapped him to the ground and caged him in, but when I went to pick up the dagger he got into my head and made me stab myself instead of him." It all seemed like so long ago.

"You started off strong," Nox begins, checking the balance of his blade that he no doubt knew by heart. "You combined your powers with your weapon, it covers the holes you might have in either field, but then you lost balance. You need to focus more on one thing before trying to tackle more. Make your powers, your battle tactics, your mental shield second nature... make them impenetrable even if you have to give birth while using any of them." I shutter at the thought. "Here," he says, flipping the dagger so that the handle is towards me and extending it. "Let's see if that dagger would have hit its target." He takes a target from the arsenal and moves it telekinetically to the wall, giving me a clear shot. I take a deep breath. I had never received extensive training in Electa, I certainly never trained with the guards as I am here, but my father had always insisted that I know how to use a dagger, always insisted I had one hidden... he would be disappointed. "Adhira," Nox calls, snapping me back to reality. "Remember that thing I said about focus?" I take another breath and clear my head, extending my left arm out in front of me to counterbalance the force that will come from the swing of the dagger. I pull my right arm back and throw the dagger towards the target, but at the last second the target moves, dodging my blow.

"That's not fair!" I turn towards Nox who is just watching with indifference as he controls the target.

"Human's move, Highness," he simply responds. "Shame, you would've hit the bullseye, too," he nods towards the table at his side where more daggers lay. I walk over, refusing to meet his eye and grab five, tucking them snug against my waistline before walking back towards my standing spot. I take a deep breath. This is different. This is knowing your opponent, guessing their next move, and placing your bet on where to fire. Think, Adhira. You've fought him before. I think back, he seemed relatively ambidextrous, but the only time I stood a chance was through Najiba, but she's not here. I wined up for another throw before stopping, turning to look at Nox who's clearly confused, the only human emotion I've seen from him. "Cato told me Najiba saved him," I start, his face hardening again, no doubt trying to hide his emotions from me. "She did," the words quiet but with such force I can feel his emotions from here even without being an empath. I take the opportunity and throw the dagger at the target, or rather, slightly to the right of the target. Nox flicks his eyes, barely having enough time to move the target to the right as I had guessed. I hit it just to the left of the bullseye before it falls to the ground with a clatter. "Not bad, Highness," he mumbles, partially impressed but more so annoyed at my obvious use of Najiba against him yet again.

"I'm leaving," I state, refusing to break Cato's eye contact as he puts down his glass.

"Excuse me?" he asks, clearly not responding well to being given orders.

"Manisha offered to take me back to Karimal to show me the town," I swallow, refusing to back down despite the fact that he can no doubt feel my nervousness.

"You wish to return to the place where you almost drown in our own blood?" he quirks an eyebrow.

"I wish to not be locked up, Cato," I exasperate, my front of confidence suddenly draining. "It's suffocating." Something in his face changes before it hardens completely. He stands up. "Then go, Adhira," he says, making his way towards the door of the dining room.

"Cato...," I call, unsure of what to say.

"You were right, Princess," he turns back towards me, his hand on the doorknob. "Before, in Rune. You never had a choice... I've never even given you one... well now I am. Go, see my kingdom, my people, make up your mind if you wish to stay or not... and if you don't return," he pauses, the words seeming painful for him to even say. "I won't come after you." The words hit me like a ton of bricks. "You'll be free, just as you wish," he smiles tightly, opening the door and walking out without another word.

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Hi, guys, hey! So... I was fast on this one! Aren't you proud of me? BE PROUD OF ME. It's fine guys, i'm fine. In case I don't post again beforehand: HAPPY EASTER, otherwise known as Zombie Jesus Day! This chapter I felt was really important because dear ole Cato started to be a tiny bit too Tamlin the Tampony for me... so I felt like I should nip that in the bud. We love TOXIC relationships not ABUSIVE relationships. Fine fine line my friends. Anyhow... love yah, enjoy some family time this weekend!

- Nicole Winters